A very interesting competition has been announced by a consortium of technology organizations that might result in your design being 3D printed in space!

The “Print The Future” competition is sponsored by Enterprise in Space, a program of the US-based National Space Society, and partners with the Kepler Space Institute, Made In Space, SketchFab, 3D Hubs, and Prairie Nanotechnology.

The idea is to engage teams of university students to come up with a unique 3D design that:

Push the bounds of 3D printing in microgravity to craft new designs that will serve humanity in expanding its presence among the stars.

Designs will be hosted on SketchFab for public viewing. A judging process will select ten semi-finalists on March 15, 2017. These finalists will be able to further prototype their designs at no charge using 3D Hubs network of community 3D printers. A month later on April 15, 2017, three finalists will be announced.

The Print The Future competition

Judging is based on equal assessment of scientific merit, engineering merit, commercial potential and originality.

At the NSS’s International Space Development Conference in May 2017, the three finalists will present their designs. A grand prize winner will be selected at this event.

Our space station.

The grand prize winner will receive awards of considerable note: their design will literally be 3D printed in space on Made In Space’s 3D printer currently on board the International Space Station! Part of the prize also involves 30 minutes of time with a astronaut on the station to explain the design and any instructions on how to make use of it.

There are many more minor prizes, but the grand prize is something students everywhere can only dream of achieving.

Unless you enter this competition. Many more details at the link below.

Kerry Stevenson, aka "General Fabb" has been writing Fabbaloo posts since he launched the venture in 2007, with an intention to promote and grow the incredible technology of 3D printing across the world. So far, it seems to be working!

Fabbaloo is a daily online publication focusing on the 3D print and additive manufacturing industries. We provide deeper analysis of developments in current and future technologies as well as corporate matters. If there’s something happening in 3D technologies, especially FDM, SLA, SLS and Stereolithography, we’ll have an opinion about it.